How She Move

Plot

Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private school education, Rayanna or Raya (Rutina Wesley) returns to her family home in the city while reluctantly re-evaluating her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is $50,000, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's (Dwain Murphy) predominantly male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local women due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by her sex, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. In the end, she eventually learns "how she move".

Cast

Production and release

This Canadian film was original slated to open in Canada in March 2007, but when it picked up a distribution deal from Paramount and MTV at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, the release date was pushed back to allow for reshooting several of the dance sequences, particularly the finale. The film was shot on Super 16mm for $5 million, and Paramount invested another $2 million in the new sequences, re-editing, and new sound mix. They created a new soundtrack with American and Canadian hip-hop artists. The film was originally set and filmed in Toronto, but the new edit removes references of the team travelling from Toronto to Detroit for the dance competition. Paramount/MTV spent another $10 million in promotion and distribution to 1500 theatres in the United States and 50 in Canada.

Critical reception

How She Move delivered mainly positive critical response. On its Rotten Tomatoes listing, 67% of critics gave it positive response, based on 73 reviews. The critical consensus for the film was "energetic and gritty, despite a formulaic plot".

Home video release

Having been released in U.S. theaters on January 25, 2008, the film was released on DVD on April 29. The film was also released in Australian cinemas on April 10, 2008, and will be available on DVD on September 4.

Soundtrack

According to the film's MySpace page, the official track listing is as follows:

1. "G-Slide (Tour Bus)" – Lil Mama feat. Kadar
2. "Out Here" – Mayhem Morearty
3. "My Boots" – Montell Jordan
4. "Perfect" – Carl Henry
5. "Jane & Finchin'" – Smugglaz
6. "It Don't Make Any Difference To Me" (acoustic version) – Kevin Michael feat. Akil Dasan
7. "Hot Hot Hot" – Montell Jordan
8. "Reflectionz" – Fenom
9. "Ms. Golly" – Lenn Hammond
10. "Rude Girl Remix" – Montell Jordan
11. "Monster" – Saukrates
12. "Work That Stick" – Montell Jordan
13. "Still Burnin'" – Fenom
14. "Don't Let It Slip Away" – Mood Ruff
15. "Tempo" – K Smith
16. "Touch it" – Busta